Odaiba is a large, artificial island in Tokyo Bay, one of the few man-made seashores where the waterfront is accessible to the public and not blocked by industry or ports. Originally built for defensive purposes in the 1850s, it began taking its modern shape when the Port of Tokyo was opened in 1941, was dramatically (re)developed at the end of the 20th century, and is now a major commercial, residential, and leisure area in the capital. We spent a full day on Odaiba—starting with a visit at the teamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum exhibit (pictured below), and then strolling along the waterfront and back across the Rainbow Bridge after watching the sunset over central Tokyo.
Odaiba’s genesis is quite fascinating: It originated as a set of small battery islands (daiba meaning “fort”) built toward the end of the Edo period to protect Tokyo against possible attacks from the sea. Only six of the eleven planned batteries were ever completed, and battery number 6 is still separate today, having been left to nature. The rest were joined into larger islands by massive landfills over a century later, and in the 1980s a development project with the aim of turning the islands into a futuristic residential and business district took shape. However, Japan’s bubble economy burst in the early 90’s, critically slowing down development and leaving Odaiba virtually vacant. It wasn’t until the late 90’s, after several hotels and shopping malls opened, that Odaiba morphed into what it is today: One of Tokyo’s most popular tourist attractions.
While access to Odaiba has been greatly expanded and improved since then, no mode of transport is covered by the JR Pass. The privately operated Rinkai Line connects directly to big stations like Shibuya or Shinjuku, city buses provide cheaper but slower access, as do ferries connecting the island with Asakusa. You could also drive or even walk there, if so inclined; the option we chose was the automated, elevated Yurikamome train from Shimbashi Station (another option is Toyosu). The views of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo’s harbor and waterfront were so spectacular, getting there was almost an attraction in itself!
We alighted at the Aomi stop, the fifth on the island, where Palette Town is located: A large shopping and entertainment complex consisting of Venus Fort (a shopping mall in the style of an 18th century European town), Toyota Mega Web (a giant showroom of all the latest models where you can test drive their cars), the Daikanransha (a 115m tall ferris wheel that was the world’s tallest when it opened in 1999, but has since lost the title), the Zepp Tokyo music venue, and teamLab Borderless, the reason for our visit. You can read all about the teamLab exhibit here—we spent five hours inside the museum, and the remaining daylight hours walking the perimeter of Odaiba towards the Rainbow Bridge. Psst, speaking of rainbows—I snuck inside a residential building for the above shot of colorful doors! Worth it.
Neighborhoods we skipped on this visit were the Big Sight and Telecom Center areas, since that would’ve meant taking not insignificant detours, but I don’t think we missed very much. Tokyo Big Sight is a bold architectural creation and Japan’s largest convention center, but it was the last day of a Motor Show, which didn’t interest us. The nearby Panasonic Center is a showroom for their latest products, with a hands-on math and science museum on one of the floors.
The Telecom Center Area includes a major information hub with several large satellites and an observation deck offering nice views of the bay area and Tokyo skyline, Oedo Onsen Monogatari, an indoor and outdoor hot spring theme park modeled after the Edo Period, as well as two museums. The Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, also known as Miraikan, is a highly interactive museum including exhibits on environmental issues, robotics, information technology, and space exploration, while the Museum of Maritime Science looks like a large cruise ship docked along the Odaiba waterfront, with its main exhibit naturally pertaining to the history and technology of ships.
The arguably most interesting area, and the one visible along the waterfront from the mainland, is the one named after Fuji TV, who moved their headquarters into a futuristic-looking building, and were instrumental in Odaiba’s rise in popularity. The sphere-shaped part of the building houses yet another observation deck. DiverCity Plaza was actually the first attraction we came across after exiting teamLab—it stuck out because of the giant Gundam statue in front of it! The interior is a shopping mall with shops and attractions dedicated to the Gundam anime series.
The two remaining attractions worth mentioning are also shopping malls: Decks Tokyo Beach even includes multiple indoor theme parks (such as Joypolis, Legoland, and Madame Tussauds), and Aquacity Odaiba features a ramen food theme park where you can try different ramen from all over Japan, a 13-screen cinema complex, and nice views of the Rainbow Bridge from the wooden deck right out front. After having spent five hours inside teamLab, we had no interest in shopping or theme parks, and there wasn’t much time to kill until a November sunset, so we didn’t go inside any of the many malls on the island. Whatever time we didn’t spend walking, we spent taking in the view from the wooden deck (which also features a replica of the Statue of Liberty).
The main reason we didn’t go back to Tokyo right after visiting teamLab despite not being interested in the other attractions on the island is the Rainbow Bridge—it was completed in 1993, and has since become an iconic symbol of Tokyo Bay, and is especially photogenic at nighttime. Its name led me to believe that the nightly illumination would be more extreme, but it turns out that only the solar-powered lamps on the supporting wires switch between red, white, and green, while the towers are illuminated in white to harmonize with the skyline, but it was still worth waiting for the sunset on the windy walkway for some great illuminated skyline shots.
The double-decker bridge supports an expressway on the upper deck, and a regular road, the Yurikamome line, and two walkways on the bottom one. The last entry to walk across in winter is at 5:30PM, and 8:30PM in summer—you get 30 minutes to reach the other side. It was doable, but we did feel rushed… but we were also freezing, so we hurried to get out of the wind (if you’re thinking to ride across on a bike to make sure you won’t get locked on the bridge over night, forget it; they’ll clamp your wheels at the start of the walkway, and you have to push it)! We chose the north side, since it was already dark: That’s the side that gives you views of the inner Tokyo harbor and Tokyo Tower, while the south side offers views of the bay, and Mount Fuji on clear days. Once you’re off the walkway, it’s only a short walk to the first mainland stop of the Yurikamome line to get you back to the city centre.
I’m not sure if this is a destination I’d put on the itinerary again, especially if I’m short on time in Tokyo, but teamLab was an absolute must for me, and we really enjoyed the rest of our day on Odaiba as well—it was the perfect low-key afternoon spent away from maddening crowds. The validity of our JR Pass started the next day, so it was a good way to relax before destination-hopping in the greater Tokyo area!
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